Line-up for Nanaimo town hall shows people care about the country

I went to Nanaimo on Friday, Feb. 2 for PM Trudeau’s town hall. I didn’t even try to get inside, but talked to people in the line who were waiting to get in.

There were people who had concerns about Kinder Morgan, LNG, electoral reform, the opioid crisis, the national housing strategy, and much more. I was astounded at the number of people who waited hours outside.

Even at 11 a.m. people were lined up for what would probably be the equivalent of four or five city blocks, and that’s after people lining up since 8 a.m. had been slowly entering the hall.

I was so heartened by the number of people who are engaged enough and who care enough to have made the trip to Nanaimo. I was especially heartened to see so many young people in the line. They are the people who are going to inherit our government, and the world we leave them. Many of the ones I spoke to were aware of all the various issues, including electoral reform, both federally and provincially in B.C.

Some of these people who waited hours may have been there just to see their prime minister in action; this is also a laudable goal.

Whether in support or in opposition to PM Trudeau, people care about how their country and province are run. People may not vote because they’re disillusioned, but they care.

If we had an electoral system provincially or nationally that represented more of the voters, more of those many people in line in Nanaimo, I think the number of people voting would increase dramatically.